AB 2895,
as amended, begin deleteCommittee on Labor and Employmentend delete begin insertRoger Hernándezend insert. Employee safety: injury prevention programs.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 establishes certain safety and other responsibilities of employers and employees. Violations of the act under certain circumstances are a crime.
The act requires every employer to establish, implement, and maintain an effective injury prevention program. The act requires the program to be written, except as specified, and to include certain elements. The act requires the employer to identify a person responsible for implementing the program and to correct unsafe and unhealthy conditions and work practices in a timely manner based on the severity of the hazard.
This bill would, commencing July 1, 2017, require an employer to keep a complete, updated copy of the written injury prevention program at each worksite and to make it available to any employee upon oral request. The bill would also require an employer to provide a copy of the written injury prevention program, or a summary thereof, to each employee and each new hire, as specified.
The bill also would require an employer who receives a written request for a copy of the written injury prevention program from a current employee, or his or her authorized representative, to comply within 5 business days and to provide the copy at no cost. The bill would make a violation of this requirement an infraction and would impose a civil penalty for failure by an employer to comply with this requirement.
Because this bill creates a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 6401.7 of the Labor Code is amended to
2read:
(a) Every employer shall establish, implement, and
4maintain an effective injury prevention program. The program
5shall be written, except as provided in subdivision (e), and shall
6include, but not be limited to, the following elements:
7(1) Identification of the person or persons responsible for
8implementing the program.
9(2) The employer’s system for identifying and evaluating
10workplace hazards, including scheduled periodic inspections to
11identify unsafe conditions and work practices.
12(3) The employer’s methods and procedures for correcting
13unsafe or unhealthy
conditions and work practices in a timely
14manner.
15(4) An occupational health and safety training program designed
16to instruct employees in general safe and healthy work practices
17and to provide specific instruction with respect to hazards specific
18to each employee’s job assignment.
P3 1(5) The employer’s system for communicating with employees
2on occupational health and safety matters, including provisions
3designed to encourage employees to inform the employer of
4hazards at the worksite without fear of reprisal.
5(6) The employer’s system for ensuring that employees comply
6with safe and healthy work practices, which may include
7disciplinary action.
8(b) The
employer shall correct unsafe and unhealthy conditions
9and work practices in a timely manner based on the severity of the
10hazard.
11(c) The employer shall train all employees when the training
12program is first established, all new employees, and all employees
13given a new job assignment, and shall train employees whenever
14new substances, processes, procedures, or equipment are introduced
15to the workplace and represent a new hazard, and whenever the
16employer receives notification of a new or previously unrecognized
17hazard. An employer in the construction industry who is required
18to be licensed under Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000)
19of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code may use
20employee training provided to the employer’s employees under a
21construction industry occupational safety and health training
22program approved
by the division to comply with the requirements
23of subdivision (a) relating to employee training, and shall only be
24required to provide training on hazards specific to an employee’s
25job duties.
26(d) The employer shall keep appropriate records of steps taken
27to implement and maintain the program. An employer in the
28construction industry who is required to be licensed under Chapter
299 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business
30and Professions Code may use records relating to employee training
31provided to the employer in connection with an occupational safety
32and health training program approved by the division to comply
33with this subdivision, and shall only be required to keep records
34of those steps taken to implement and maintain the program with
35respect to hazards specific to an employee’s job duties.
36(e) (1) The standards board shall adopt a standard setting forth
37the employer’s duties under this section, on or before January 1,
381991, consistent with the requirements specified in subdivisions
39(a), (b), (c), and (d). The standards board, in adopting the standard,
40shall include substantial compliance criteria for use in evaluating
P4 1an employer’s injury prevention program. The board may adopt
2less stringent criteria for employers with few employees and for
3employers in industries with insignificant occupational safety or
4health hazards.
5(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for employers with fewer
6than 20 employees who are in industries that are not on a
7designated list of high hazard industries and who have a workers’
8compensation experience modification rate
of 1.1 or less, and for
9any employers with fewer than 20 employees who are in industries
10that are on a designated list of low hazard industries, the board
11shall adopt a standard setting forth the employer’s duties under
12this section consistent with the requirements specified in
13subdivisions (a), (b), and (c), except that the standard shall only
14require written documentation to the extent of documenting the
15person or persons responsible for implementing the program
16
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), keeping a record of
17periodic inspections pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a),
18and keeping a record of employee training pursuant to paragraph
19(4) of subdivision (a). To any extent beyond the specifications of
20this subdivision, the standard shall not require the employer to
21keep the records specified in subdivision (d).
22(3) (A) The division shall establish a list of high hazard
23industries using the methods prescribed in Section 6314.1 for
24identifying and targeting employers in high hazard industries. For
25purposes of this subdivision, the “designated list of high hazard
26industries” shall be the list established pursuant to this paragraph.
27(B) For the purpose of implementing this subdivision, the
28Department
of Industrial Relations shall periodically review, and
29as necessary revise, the list.
30(4) For the purpose of implementing this subdivision, the
31Department of Industrial Relations shall also establish a list of low
32hazard industries, and shall periodically review, and as necessary
33revise, that list.
34(f) The standard adopted pursuant to subdivision (e) shall
35specifically permit employer and employee occupational safety
36and health committees to be included in the employer’s injury
37prevention program. The board shall establish criteria for use in
38evaluating employer and employee occupational safety and health
39committees. The criteria shall include minimum duties, including
40the following:
P5 1(1) Review of the
employer’s periodic, scheduled worksite
2inspections; investigation of causes of incidents resulting in injury,
3illness, or exposure to hazardous substances; and investigation of
4any alleged hazardous condition brought to the attention of any
5committee member. When determined necessary by the committee,
6the committee may conduct its own inspections and investigations.
7(2) (A) Upon request from the division, verification of
8abatement action taken by the employer as specified in division
9citations.
10(B) If an employer’s occupational safety and health committee
11meets the criteria established by the board, it shall be presumed to
12be in substantial compliance with paragraph (5) of subdivision (a).
13(g) The division
shall adopt regulations specifying the
14procedures for selecting employee representatives for
15employer-employee occupational health and safety committees
16when these procedures are not specified in an applicable collective
17bargaining agreement. No employee or employee organization
18shall be held liable for any act or omission in connection with a
19health and safety committee.
20(h) The employer’s injury prevention program, as required by
21this section, shall cover all of the employer’s employees and all
22other workers who the employer controls or directs and directly
23supervises on the job to the extent these workers are exposed to
24worksite and job assignment specific hazards. Nothing in this
25subdivision shall affect the obligations of a contractor or other
26employer that controls or directs and directly supervises its own
27employees on the
job.
28(i) When a contractor supplies its employee to a state agency
29employer on a temporary basis, the state agency employer may
30assess a fee upon the contractor to reimburse the state agency for
31the additional costs, if any, of including the contract employee
32within the state agency’s injury prevention program.
33(j) (1) The division shall prepare a Model Injury and Illness
34Prevention Program for Non-High-Hazard Employment, and shall
35make copies of the model program prepared pursuant to this
36subdivision available to employers, upon request, for posting in
37the workplace. An employer who adopts and implements the model
38program prepared by the division pursuant to this paragraph in
39good faith shall not be assessed a civil penalty for the first citation
P6 1for
a violation of this section issued after the employer’s adoption
2and implementation of the model program.
3(2) For purposes of this subdivision, the division shall establish
4a list of non-high-hazard industries in California. These industries,
5identified by their Standard Industrial Classification Codes, as
6published by the United States Office of Management and Budget
7in the Manual of Standard Industrial Classification Codes, 1987
8Edition, are apparel and accessory stores (Code 56), eating and
9drinking places (Code 58), miscellaneous retail (Code 59), finance,
10insurance, and real estate (Codes 60-67), personal services (Code
1172), business services (Code 73), motion pictures (Code 78) except
12motion picture production and allied services (Code 781), legal
13services (Code 81), educational services (Code 82), social services
14(Code 83), museums, art
galleries, and botanical and zoological
15gardens (Code 84), membership organizations (Code 86),
16engineering, accounting, research, management, and related
17services (Code 87), private households (Code 88), and
18miscellaneous services (Code 89). To further identify industries
19that may be included on the list, the division shall also consider
20data from a rating organization, as defined in Section 11750.1 of
21the Insurance Code, and all other appropriate information. The list
22shall be established by June 30, 1994, and shall be reviewed, and
23as necessary revised, biennially.
24(3) The division shall prepare a Model Injury and Illness
25Prevention Program for Employers in Industries with Intermittent
26Employment, and shall determine which industries have historically
27utilized seasonal or intermittent employees. An employer in an
28industry determined
by the division to have historically utilized
29seasonal or intermittent employees shall be deemed to have
30complied with the requirements of subdivision (a) with respect to
31a written injury prevention program if the employer adopts the
32model program prepared by the division pursuant to this paragraph
33and complies with any instructions relating thereto.
34(k) With respect to any county, city, city and county, or district,
35or any public or quasi-public corporation or public agency therein,
36including any public entity, other than a state agency, that is a
37member of, or created by, a joint powers agreement, subdivision
38(d) shall not apply.
39(l) Every workers’ compensation insurer shall conduct a review,
40including a written report as specified below, of the injury and
P7 1illness
prevention program (IIPP) of each of its insureds with an
2experience modification of 2.0 or greater within six months of the
3commencement of the initial insurance policy term. The review
4shall determine whether the insured has implemented all of the
5required components of the IIPP, and evaluate their effectiveness.
6The training component of the IIPP shall be evaluated to determine
7whether training is provided to line employees, supervisors, and
8upper level management, and effectively imparts the information
9and skills each of these groups needs to ensure that all of the
10insured’s specific health and safety issues are fully addressed by
11the insured. The reviewer shall prepare a detailed written report
12specifying the findings of the review and all recommended changes
13deemed necessary to make the IIPP effective. The reviewer shall
14be or work under the direction of a licensed California professional
15engineer,
certified safety professional, or a certified industrial
16hygienist.
17(m) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2017,
18and as of that date is repealed.
Section 6401.7 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
(a) Every employer shall establish, implement, and
21maintain an effective injury prevention program. The program
22shall be written, except as provided in subdivision (f), and shall
23include, but not be limited to, the following elements:
24(1) Identification of the person or persons responsible for
25implementing the program.
26(2) The employer’s system for identifying and evaluating
27workplace hazards, including scheduled periodic inspections to
28identify unsafe conditions and work practices.
29(3) The employer’s methods and procedures for correcting
30unsafe
or unhealthy conditions and work practices in a timely
31manner.
32(4) An occupational health and safety training program designed
33to instruct employees in general safe and healthy work practices
34and to provide specific instruction with respect to hazards specific
35to each employee’s job assignment.
36(5) The employer’s system for communicating with employees
37on occupational health and safety matters, including provisions
38designed to encourage employees to inform the employer of
39hazards at the worksite without fear of reprisal.
P8 1(6) The employer’s system for ensuring that employees comply
2with safe and healthy work practices, which may include
3disciplinary action.
4(b) The employer shall correct unsafe and unhealthy conditions
5and work practices in a timely manner based on the severity of the
6hazard.
7(c) The employer shall train all employees when the training
8program is first established, all new employees, and all employees
9given a new job assignment, and shall train employees whenever
10new substances, processes, procedures, or equipment are introduced
11to the workplace and represent a new hazard, and whenever the
12employer receives notification of a new or previously unrecognized
13hazard. An employer in the construction industry who is required
14to be licensed under Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000)
15of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code may use
16employee training provided to the employer’s employees under a
17construction industry occupational safety and health training
18program
approved by the division to comply with the requirements
19of subdivision (a) relating to employee training, and shall only be
20required to provide training on hazards specific to an employee’s
21job duties.
22(d) The employer shall keep appropriate records of steps taken
23to implement and maintain the program. An employer in the
24construction industry who is required to be licensed under Chapter
259 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business
26and Professions Code may use records relating to employee training
27provided to the employer in connection with an occupational safety
28and health training program approved by the division to comply
29with this subdivision, and shall only be required to keep records
30of those steps taken to implement and maintain the program with
31respect to hazards specific to an employee’s job duties.
32(e) (1) An employer shall keep an up-to-date complete copy of
33the written injury prevention program referred to in subdivision
34(a) at each worksite, and shall make it available for inspection by
35any current employee or by the division upon an oral request. The
36worksite copy shall be in English, and, if the language spoken by
37the majority of the employees at the worksite is not English, the
38worksite copy shall also be in the language spoken by the majority
39of the employees at the worksite.
P9 1(2) Upon the operative date of this section, an employer shall
2provide a complete copy of the written injury prevention program
3referred to in subdivision (a) to each current employee, and, after
4the operative date of this section, an employer shall provide a
5complete copy of
the written injury prevention program to each
6new employee at the time of hire. The copy of the written injury
7prevention program shall be in English or, if the language spoken
8by the majority of the employees at the worksite is not English,
9an employee who requests a copy of the written injury prevention
10program shall be provided with a copy in the language spoken by
11the majority of the employees at the worksite. If the written injury
12prevention program referred to in subdivision (a) exceeds a total
13of 50 pages, the employer, in lieu of providing a copy as required
14under this paragraph, shall provide a complete summary that
15addresses the requirements referred to in subdivision (a), which
16shall be in English or, if the language spoken by the majority of
17the employees at the worksite is not English, an employee who
18requests a copy of the written injury prevention program shall be
19provided with
a summary that is in the language spoken by the
20majority of the employees at the worksite.
21(3) An employer who receives a written request for a complete
22copy of the written injury prevention program referred to in
23subdivision (a) from a current employee, or his or her authorized
24representative, shall comply with the request as soon as practicable,
25but no later than five business days from the date a request pursuant
26to this paragraph is received. The copy of the written injury
27prevention program shall be provided to the current employee, or
28to his or her authorized representative, at no cost. An employer
29may designate the person to whom a request under this paragraph
30is to be made. A violation of this paragraph is an infraction.
31Impossibility of performance, not caused by or a result of a
32violation of law, shall be an affirmative defense for
an employer
33
in any action alleging a violation of this paragraph. For purposes
34of this paragraph, an “authorized representative” means a person
35authorized in writing by a current employee to receive a copy of
36the written injury prevention program referred to in subdivision
37(a).
38(4) A failure by an employer to comply with paragraph (3)
39entitles an employee to recover a seven-hundred-fifty-dollar ($750)
40penalty from the
employer.
P10 1(f) (1) The standards board shall adopt a standard setting forth
2the employer’s duties under this section, on or before January 1,
31991, consistent with the requirements specified in subdivisions
4(a), (b), (c), (d), and (e). The standards board, in adopting the
5standard, shall include substantial compliance criteria for use in
6evaluating an employer’s injury prevention program. The board
7may adopt less stringent criteria for employers with few employees
8and for employers in industries with insignificant occupational
9safety or health hazards.
10(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for employers with fewer
11than 20 employees who are in industries that are not on a
12designated list of high hazard industries and who have a workers’
13compensation
experience modification rate of 1.1 or less, and for
14any employers with fewer than 20 employees who are in industries
15that are on a designated list of low hazard industries, the board
16shall adopt a standard setting forth the employer’s duties under
17this section consistent with the requirements specified in
18subdivisions (a), (b), andbegin delete (c)end deletebegin insert (c),end insert except that the standard shall only
19require written documentation to the extent of documenting the
20person or persons responsible for implementing the program
21pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), keeping a record of
22periodic inspections pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a),
23and keeping a record of employee training pursuant to paragraph
24(4) of subdivision (a). To any extent beyond
the specifications of
25this subdivision, the standard shall not require the employer to
26keep the records specified in subdivision (d).
27(3) (A) The division shall establish a list of high hazard
28industries using the methods prescribed in Section 6314.1 for
29identifying and targeting employers in high hazard industries. For
30purposes of this subdivision, the “designated list of high hazard
31industries” shall be the list established pursuant to this paragraph.
32(B) For the purpose of implementing this subdivision, the
33Department of Industrial Relations shall periodically review, and
34as necessary revise, the list.
35(4) For the purpose of implementing this subdivision, the
36Department of Industrial Relations
shall also establish a list of low
37hazard industries, and shall periodically review, and as necessary
38revise, that list.
39(g) The standard adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) shall
40specifically permit employer and employee occupational safety
P11 1and health committees to be included in the employer’s injury
2prevention program. The board shall establish criteria for use in
3evaluating employer and employee occupational safety and health
4committees. The criteria shall include minimum duties, including
5the following:
6(1) Review of the employer’s periodic, scheduled worksite
7inspections; investigation of causes of incidents resulting in injury,
8illness, or exposure to hazardous substances; and investigation of
9any alleged hazardous condition brought to the attention of any
10committee
member. When determined necessary by the committee,
11the committee may conduct its own inspections and investigations.
12(2) (A) Upon request from the division, verification of
13abatement action taken by the employer as specified in division
14citations.
15(B) If an employer’s occupational safety and health committee
16meets the criteria established by the board, it shall be presumed to
17be in substantial compliance with paragraph (5) of subdivision (a).
18(h) The division shall adopt regulations specifying the
19procedures for selecting employee representatives for
20employer-employee occupational health and safety committees
21when these procedures are not specified in an applicable collective
22bargaining agreement. No
employee or employee organization
23shall be held liable for any act or omission in connection with a
24health and safety committee.
25(i) The employer’s injury prevention program, as required by
26this section, shall cover all of the employer’s employees and all
27other workers who the employer controls or directs and directly
28supervises on the job to the extent these workers are exposed to
29worksite and job assignment specific hazards. Nothing in this
30subdivision shall affect the obligations of a contractor or other
31employer that controls or directs and directly supervises its own
32employees on the job.
33(j) When a contractor supplies its employee to a state agency
34employer on a temporary basis, the state agency employer may
35assess a fee upon the contractor to reimburse the state agency
for
36the additional costs, if any, of including the contract employee
37within the state agency’s injury prevention program.
38(k) (1) The division shall prepare a Model Injury and Illness
39Prevention Program for Non-High-Hazard Employment, and shall
40make copies of the model program prepared pursuant to this
P12 1subdivision available to employers, upon request, for posting in
2the workplace. An employer who adopts and implements the model
3program prepared by the division pursuant to this paragraph in
4good faith shall not be assessed a civil penalty for the first citation
5for a violation of this section issued after the employer’s adoption
6and implementation of the model program.
7(2) For purposes of this subdivision, the division shall establish
8a list of
non-high-hazard industries in California. These industries,
9identified by their Standard Industrial Classification Codes, as
10published by the United States Office of Management and Budget
11in the Manual of Standard Industrial Classification Codes, 1987
12Edition, are apparel and accessory stores (Code 56), eating and
13drinking places (Code 58), miscellaneous retail (Code 59), finance,
14insurance, and real estate (Codes 60-67), personal services (Code
1572), business services (Code 73), motion pictures (Code 78) except
16motion picture production and allied services (Code 781), legal
17services (Code 81), educational services (Code 82), social services
18(Code 83), museums, art galleries, and botanical and zoological
19gardens (Code 84), membership organizations (Code 86),
20engineering, accounting, research, management, and related
21services (Code 87), private households (Code 88), and
22miscellaneous services (Code
89). To further identify industries
23that may be included on the list, the division shall also consider
24data from a rating organization, as defined in Section 11750.1 of
25the Insurance Code, and all other appropriate information. The list
26shall be established by June 30, 1994, and shall be reviewed, and
27as necessary revised, biennially.
28(3) The division shall prepare a Model Injury and Illness
29Prevention Program for Employers in Industries with Intermittent
30Employment, and shall determine which industries have historically
31utilized seasonal or intermittent employees. An employer in an
32industry determined by the division to have historically utilized
33seasonal or intermittent employees shall be deemed to have
34complied with the requirements of subdivision (a) with respect to
35a written injury prevention program if the employer adopts the
36model
program prepared by the division pursuant to this paragraph
37and complies with any instructions relating thereto.
38(l) With respect to any county, city, city and county, or district,
39or any public or quasi-public corporation or public agency therein,
40including any public entity, other than a state agency, that is a
P13 1member of, or created by, a joint powers agreement, subdivision
2(d) shall not apply.
3(m) Every workers’ compensation insurer shall conduct a
4review, including a written report as specified below, of the injury
5and illness prevention program (IIPP) of each of its insureds with
6an experience modification of 2.0 or greater within six months of
7the commencement of the initial insurance policy term. The review
8shall determine whether the insured has implemented all of the
9required
components of the IIPP, and evaluate their effectiveness.
10The training component of the IIPP shall be evaluated to determine
11whether training is provided to line employees, supervisors, and
12upper level management, and effectively imparts the information
13and skills each of these groups needs to ensure that all of the
14insured’s specific health and safety issues are fully addressed by
15the insured. The reviewer shall prepare a detailed written report
16specifying the findings of the review and all recommended changes
17deemed necessary to make the IIPP effective. The reviewer shall
18be or work under the direction of a licensed California professional
19engineer, certified safety professional, or a certified industrial
20hygienist.
21(n) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2017.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
23Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
24the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
25district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
26infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
27for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
28the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
29the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
30Constitution.
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